Ace's Heart
by Katasana
Summary: Ace sneaks home to see Luffy after getting kicked out of school again. He just has to avoid Garp and his Fist of Love.


AN: Right now, I'm only really doing one-shots. I'm busy with school-work and all, and I just don't have a good idea for a long chapter story. Again, I'm sorta new at doing this, so feel free to comment about anything, critique, etc. Also, this is unbeta'd, though it is proofread, but please point out any mistakes you find! (especially grammar)

This was supposed to be submitted a couple days ago, but then Sandy came. Oh well, Halloween present to me I guess. So review please?

This story is an AU where Ace and Luffy are biological brothers (I prefer to see them as biological rather than adopted ) living with their grandfather, Garp. The plot was definitely inspired by the book Catcher in the Rye. My hope in writing this short story was to make myself like the book more, you know, for school and shit.

Pairing: AceLu (brothership really, but can be read as slash if you want)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, or Catcher in the Rye for that matter.

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Ace softly closed the door behind him, careful to tiptoe across the hall so as to not wake up his homicidal grandfather. He was home early from college because he had gotten expelled for picking one fight too many. It was his fourth school in two years, and his grandpa would no doubt be angry. He knew it was pretty suicidal to even come home early, before the expulsion letter arrived, but he couldn't resist seeing his cute little brother. When he finally got to the right room, he opened the door slowly, and gently closed the door behind him before making his way to the side of the bed.

"Luffy. Hey, Luffy. Wake up," Ace whispered, shaking the sleeping boy.

The 17 year old boy blinked his eyes open, sleep still clouding his mind. Slowly, he vision focused on the face hovering above him.

"Ace!" Luffy cried, sitting up instantly. He flung his arms around his older brother, giving him a tight hug. "Ace, why are you home already? Shouldn't you be back at the end of the week?" Luffy asked; it was only Tuesday.

"Shh, yeah Lu. School let out early," Ace lied. He didn't want to tell his brother that he had been expelled from yet another school.

"Really? Oh, that's great! But why didn't Gramps say anything this time?" Luffy asked.

"Shh, Luffy! Not so loud, Gramps will wake up. I wanted to surprise you," Ace whispered harshly.

"Gramps is down at the bar, he probably won't be back until really late," Luffy said.

With that piece of information, Ace finally allowed himself to calm down some. He sat back on the bed and really took in the image of his little brother he hadn't seen for nearly four months. Luffy was now sitting up on his knees in the middle of the large king size bed, watching Ace with large curious eyes, dressed in just his thin blue pajamas with little ships decorating the clothes. There wasn't much in the world that Ace really liked, which is why he really didn't care if he got kicked out from another school; he wanted to leave anyway. But the only real thing he loved with all his heart was his little brother Luffy. Luffy was the one constant in his life that he could always count on, and he knew that he would do anything to see his little brother happy.

"Ne, Ace," Luffy said, bringing Ace out of his thoughts, "you didn't get expelled again, did you? Gramps almost killed you for getting kicked out of that last school."

Ace wanted to kick himself. Luffy wasn't the brightest of kids, but he had the uncanny ability of picking up on things where it counted.

"No, of course not. Why would I get kicked out of this one? I told you, school let us out early," Ace lied.

Luffy stared into Ace's eyes, making Ace squirm in discomfort. Slowly, his brother shook his head. "Ace got kicked out again. Ooh, Ace! Why'd you _do_ it? Gramps is going to _kill_ you!"

Ace sighed, knowing his brother wasn't kidding. "I don't know, Lu. I don't know. Maybe when you get to college, you'll see. But I don't want anything to corrupt you, Luffy. You're my little angel." He pulled Luffy in for a hug, which made Luffy smile and lean into his embrace.

Ace finally pulled away, "Lu, I should go before Gramps gets back. If Gramps finds me here…" Ace shuddered at the thought, "If Gramps finds me here… I'm dead. He's expecting me home Friday."

"I know, but it's ok. He won't come in here or anything, probably. Sleep with me tonight," Luffy pleaded, tugging on Ace's arm.

Ace almost blushed at the implications of that statement, but knew that Luffy had only meant it in an innocent way. He knew, either way, that staying was a bad idea, but with the puppy-eyes look his little brother was giving him, he caved, "All right, I'll sleep with you tonight. I'll figure out what to do tomorrow," he said, crawling onto the bed.

He lay down next to his brother, smiling softly as he ran his hand through his little brother's soft raven locks. He gave his brother a kiss on his forehead, watching Luffy close his eyes, a smile still on the boy's face. Luffy opened his eyes then, his love for his brother showing through, which Ace couldn't help but return wholeheartedly.

Just then, the front door slammed open, and they heard the loud, drunk laughter of their grandpa. Ace immediately dashed into the closet and closed the door, while Luffy dived under the covers and pretended to be asleep. At the moment, Ace was starting to think that staying was a really bad idea, but he already promised Luffy. Besides, he had nowhere else to go anyways.

The door of Luffy's room slammed open, and Ace could hear their grandfather's loud, thundering footsteps in the room. He heard a fist connect with a skull, wincing at the thought of what just happened. No doubt Gramps just gave Luffy a Fist of Love; those hurt even more when the man was drunk. "LUFFY!" Gramps roared, probably waking up the entire block. But before he could get another word out, he fell asleep standing next to the boy's bed, snoring softly.

Ace quietly stepped out of the closet, deeming it safe enough for the time being. What he saw was admittedly very funny: Gramps was standing over his little brother, snoring away, while Luffy had tears in his eyes as he rubbed the new bump on his head.

He helped Luffy lift their grandpa out of the room and into the hallway. They left their grandpa snoring in the hall before Luffy quietly closed the door and walked back to his bed.

They soon heard their grandpa wake with a snort, and stayed silent for a few minutes. "Wa- huh? What am I doing out here? I fell asleep in the hallway again huh? Oh well, time for bed," they heard their grandpa say before footsteps retreated into a different room. They both breathed a sigh of relief, and Ace rejoined Luffy on the bed. Luffy lifted up the covers so Ace could slip in, and the two snuggled together, relishing in the warmth of the other.

"Nah, Ace? Will you be here in the morning?" Luffy asked.

Ace looked at him. Although it was dark, he could still see the hope in his little brother's eyes. With that expression, he just didn't have the heart to turn him down. "Yes, Luffy. Now sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

Luffy's face broke into a wide grin, and at that moment, Ace decided that whatever punishment he was going to get in the morning would be worth this one smile.

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-The next morning-

"Ace! What the hell are you doing home already? Don't tell me you got kicked out of this one too! Ace, I swear when I catch you…" Garp chased his eldest grandson around the house the rest of the morning, knocking over and breaking various things. He finally caught Ace and a yelp of pain was the last thing Luffy heard before his brother was sent to the hospital.

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Please R & R!


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